


the duty of love

by ultdojae



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, I cried writing this, M/M, Noren, kind of based off of love simon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 23:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16901706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultdojae/pseuds/ultdojae
Summary: renjun starts receiving emails from a secret admirer





	the duty of love

**Author's Note:**

> title: the duty of love - key

“stop looking at your phone, loser.” renjun’s friend, donghyuck, scolded. 

 

“i’m answering emails.” he stated bluntly. 

 

“i know damn well that you’re not answering emails. who the fuck still uses emails?” donghyuck squints. 

 

“i still use emails,” renjun’s other friend, jeno mumbled. his mouth was full of food. 

 

“jeno, chew your food.” donghyuck sighed. 

 

“fine, don’t believe me,” renjun locks his phone. 

 

renjun thought about it, then thought about it some more, who on earth still uses email? apparently this person that’s trying to send him anonymous messages. should they even be considered just messages? they were more like love letters in the form of an email. 

 

+

 

_ renjun,  _

 

_ I have a secret, but you can’t tell anybody else. _

 

_ I think i have a crush on you. You know what, scratch that, i'm certain that i have a crush on you.  _

 

_ Love, _

_ Anonymous _

 

+

 

“jeno,” renjun calls. jeno turns around in his chair, focusing on renjun instead of doing work. “do you know anyone that could have a crush on me?”

 

“uh,” jeno pauses to think. “i don't think so?” his eyebrows furrow. “why do you ask?”

 

“hyuck would clown me for this but, basically this morning i received an email from someone. it wasn't like any regular email, it was like a love letter.”

 

jeno suspiciously eyes the room before turning his attention back to renjun. “why are you telling me this? do you need help writing an email back? or do you need help finding out who this person is?” 

 

“both, but the latter is appreciated,” renjun smiles, “thanks, jen.” he gives his friend a pat on the shoulder. 

 

-

renjun was getting ready for school the next morning when his phone went off. since it really could be anyone ranging from donghyuck to jeno, he ignored it for now. once renjun was done getting ready, he decided now would be a perfect time to check his phone. as expected, there were messages from both donghyuck and jeno. jeno, who is usually his ride in the morning, says renjun has to take the bus today since his car wouldn’t start this morning. the other message from donghyuck was him telling renjun to hurry his ass up to school because he wasn’t able to finish the homework last night. 

 

_ video games? _ renjun sent.

 

donghyuck replied. a few seconds later:  _ okay fine, it was because of video games, sue me. _

 

renjun just shook his head before sliding his phone into his pocket. 

 

the bus was packed, renjun wasn’t shocked. it was always packed no matter what time in the morning you got on, whether it was six in the morning or four, it seemed to always be packed. nevertheless, renjun was annoyed. who wouldn’t be? Everyone was pressed up against each other while also pushing and shoving. renjun was thankful the bus ride wasn’t long. 

 

since all the handles were occupied by everyone else, renjun had to depend on his body strength to keep him from falling over every time the bus came to a stop. what felt like the fiftieth time to renjun, the bus came to a sharp halt. renjun’s body jerked forward, but before he could hit the floor of the bus, two arms came out from nowhere and landed on his shoulders. renjun looked up at the person who just saved his life. 

 

renjun mentally kicked himself for not recognizing the person standing in front of him. renjun snapped out of his trance before dusting himself off and cleared his throat. “thank you, jaemin.”

 

“no problem,” the younger flashed a smile. 

 

the bus finally arrived at school, jaemin got off first, renjun followed behind. before jaemin could go any further he heard renjun call his name. he walked back over to him. 

 

“yeah?” jaemin asks.

 

“this is going to be kind of a weird question but i’m just trying to get as much information as possible,” renjun starts.

 

“okay,” 

 

“so, yesterday morning i received an email from someone. the email was kind of in the form of a love letter,” renjun leans in closer to jaemin, who just looks confused. “do you know of anyone that would be trying to send me love letters via email?”

 

jaemin pouts as he thinks, “no, i have no idea who could be sending you those emails. i hope you find out soon, though. good luck.” and with that jaemin was gone.

  
  


“find your secret admirer, yet?” donghyuck speaks up at lunch.

 

“no,” renjun sighs. he snaps his head to look at donghyuck. “wait, who told you about that?”

 

“jaemin was talking about it in bio,” donghyuck answers casually. “was it supposed to be a secret?”

 

“i mean, not really,” renjun takes out his phone. “i haven’t even checked if they sent another one yet. maybe the more i get the more it’ll narrow down.”

 

renjun unlocks his phone and goes into his emails. to his surprise, he has not one, but two emails from his secret admirer waiting for him. before he opens them he speaks up again.

 

“where’s jeno?” he asks. donghyuck just shrugs. renjun sighs, yet again, before continuing to his emails. 

 

+

 

_ renjun, _

 

_ good morning, angel!  _

 

_ i wanted to send you a message as soon as i woke up.  _

 

_ i was thinking about it and you’re pretty much the only reason i go to school. _

 

_ if it weren’t for you, i probably would’ve dropped out. _

 

_ you’re very powerful, huang renjun. _

 

_ love, _

_ anonymous _

 

-

 

_ renjun,  _

 

_ i saw you this morning. _

 

_ i wanted to say hi but, i saw that you were with someone else, i didn't want to interrupt you guys.  _

 

_ is it weird that i felt jealous seeing you two? _

 

_ love, _

_ anonymous _

 

+

 

after renjun read both of the emails, he decided that he should try something.

 

“hyuck?” 

 

“hm?” the younger answered, eyes not peeling from his phone.

 

“should i try emailing them back? i could ask them to meet up or at least tell them to give me a hint as to who they are.” renjun rambles on.

 

donghyuck puts his phone down, gnawing at his lip as he looks at renjun. “i guess that isn't a bad idea. after you send the message, we could look around and see if anyone pulls out their phone.” 

 

renjun nods his head. he then freezes. “what do i even say?” 

 

donghyuck doesn't say anything, he just shrugs, again. “i don't know man, that's something for you to figure out. what do you want to say to them?”

 

renjun bites the inside of his cheek before turning back to his emails. he presses the reply button. 

 

+

 

_ dear anonymous, _

 

_ hey there! i love the emails you've been sending me. _

 

_ however, i would really like to know who you are. i was going to try to stick it out and see if you would give me any hints but i have a feeling that you’re going to be able to hide yourself very well… _

 

_ i know these emails are supposed to be anonymous but, i'm really curious.  _

 

_ i don't know where i was going with this. i just wanted to tell you all of that.  _

 

_ maybe we could meet up? _

 

_ love,  _

_ renjun _

 

+

 

“that was the most confusing message i've ever sent.” renjun mumbles to himself. he looks over at donghyuck to see if he caught what he was saying but he was occupied with his phone.

 

-

 

after renjun had gotten ready for bed, he flopped onto his mattress, grabbing his phone from his nightstand to see if anybody messaged him. he was genuinely surprised that there was an email from his secret admirer already. his hands shook as he slid the notification to open it. 

 

+

 

_ renjun, _

 

_ i thought you would never reply back! in my mind, you were just ignoring these emails but, you seem eager to find out who i am so i’ll cooperate!! _

 

_ i'm a little anxious to show myself but for you i’ll work past that.  _

 

_ tomorrow morning, find donghyuck, he should take it from there. sorry i brought him into this but he’s a good friend of mine! _

 

_ also, i just wanted to say i haven't seen you much today :( our schedules clash a lot so it’s understandable. plus, i was occupied with other school things.  _

 

_ i hope i’ll see you soon. i hope you’re just as nervous as i am. _

 

_ goodnight, angel. sweet dreams! _

 

_ love, _

_ the boy who loves you _

 

+

 

huh? the boy who loves him? he’s friends with donghyuck? 

 

renjun took a second to gather his thoughts, his head was starting to hurt from all the thinking he was doing. he decided to vent to jeno, he couldn't talk to donghyuck because he wouldn't help him anyways.

  
  


**_renjun_ ** _ (10:37 p.m) _

_ jeno _

 

_ i need help _

 

**_jeno_ ** _ (10:39 p.m) _

 

_ hey renjun _

 

_ yeah sure what's up? _

 

**_renjun_ ** _ (10:41 p.m) _

_ so you know the whole email  _

_ stuff right _

 

_ well yesterday i sent them an email _

_ asking if we could meet up and what _

_ not and yeah they agreed to it but _

_ they said some stuff that made me go  _

_ “??” _

 

_ one, they’re friends with donghyuck. _

_ two, they signed off as “the boy who _

_ loves you” _

_ and lastly, they said that our schedules  _

_ clash so it’s going to be even harder figuring _

_ out who this is _

 

_ do you have any idea of who this might be? _

**_jeno_ ** _ (11:15 p.m) _

_ sorry i was showering _

 

_ also no i don't have any idea _

_ of who it could be _

 

_ do you know? do you have any  _

_ suspects? _

 

**_renjun_ ** _ (11:16 p.m) _

_ suspects _

_ this isn’t a murder jeno _

 

**_jeno_ ** _ (11:16 p.m) _

_ sorry _

 

 ** _renjun_** _(11:17 p.m)_

_ anyways i guess i could try brainstorming _

 

_ i don't think that it’s donghyuck, he's been  _

_ my best friend for so long and he hasn't showed _

_ any sign of being interested in me _

 

_ i don't think it’s jaemin either, he’s way out of my _

_ league _

 

_ i ran out of people _

 

**_jeno_ ** _ (11:18 p.m) _

_ you’re forgetting someone _

 

**_renjun_ ** _ (11:18 p.m) _

_??? _

_ who _

 

_ oh _

 

_ mark?? _

 

_ there's no way it’d be him. there were _

_ emails talking about how they saw me _

_ with another person at school _

 

_ it can’t be him, it’s impossible _

 

_ anyways it’s late we should sleep _

 

_ goodnight jen _

 

**_jeno_ ** _ (11:20 p.m)  _

_ goodnight renjun _

 

-

 

“hey there buddy!” renjun greets donghyuck as soon as he walks into his first class of the day. “i hear you have some information for me?”

 

donghyuck looks up at renjun. “boy do i,” donghyuck says as he crosses both his arms and legs. “this secret admirer you have told me to tell you to meet him somewhere. i may or may not have forgotten the place he told me to meet him at,” he takes his phone out, typing something before sending it. a few seconds later a reply came in. “ah, he wants to meet you in the parking lot after school, he said he’ll be waiting at his car.”

 

renjun blinked. “how do i know if it’s him?”

 

donghyuck clicked his tongue. “good question. you know what i’ll just take you there.” 

  
  


as the last bell of the day had rung, renjun wiped his sweaty palms onto his pants. he was a few seconds away from throwing up his lunch when donghyuck hooked an arm around his to guide him to his secret admirers meet up location.

 

“don't be nervous, jun! i know this guy, he’s very nice, caring, handsome, the whole package! but, there’s one thing i need to tell you,” donghyuck leaned closer to renjun as they entered the beginning of the parking lot.

 

renjun gulped. “yeah?”

 

“if you  _ ever _ hurt him, you  _ will _ feel the wrath of lee donghyuck,” donghyuck slipped his arm out from renjun’s. “he’s just down there, you’ll see him. good luck!”

 

renjun internally screamed. his heartbeat increased significantly as his eyes darted from car to car, careful to not miss his admirer. 

 

renjun felt his eyes tear up and mouth go dry when he finally was met with a familiar pair of eyes. he was frozen in place, his body suddenly felt heavy. how could renjun be so stupid to not think that the person was in front of him this entire time!

 

as renjun approached him, the boy who loves him flashed a warm smile at him. “hi, it’s me,” the boy said softly.

 

“jeno,” renjun started to stumble over his words. jeno, of course it was jeno. the person renjun was forgetting wasnt mark, it was jeno. jeno was the one who saw him that morning with jaemin. it finally hit him, he barely saw jeno yesterday, he even asked where he was at lunch! “jeno,” renjun tried again. “i’m sorry i didn’t realize it was you,” renjun’s voice cracked.

 

jeno gave renjun a look of confusion. “why are you upset? i was anonymous for a reason,” he chuckled, “for as smart as you are, you can be dumb sometimes. but, that’s what i love about you,” renjun pouts. “oh you precious baby, come here.” jeno says before engulfing renjun in the tightest hug ever. 

 

“why didn't you just confess to me instead of me having to on a wild goose chase to figure it out?” renjun mumbles in jeno’s shoulder. 

 

“it wasn't my idea, donghyuck suggested i do it. i was going to just confess to you but, donghyuck thought that sending you love letters via email was a better idea.” jeno just shrugs. 

 

both of them hear someone clear their throat next to them, they both turn to look at who the culprit was. 

 

“you guys can thank me later,” donghyuck says before bowing. 

 

“come here you little,” renjun reaches out to hit donghyuck but before he can attack, jeno’s pulling him back while donghyuck runs for his life.

 

“you do realize that we’ll actually have to thank him later?” jeno speaks up.

 

renjun lets out an annoyed sigh. “i know.” jeno suddenly pulls renjun in, pressing a kiss to his forehead, wiping the irritated look right off renjun’s face, sending him into a fit of giggles. 

 

+

 

_ renjun,  _

 

_ i love you _

 

_ love, jeno _

 

+

  
  



End file.
